Can hashtags improve diversity in medicine?

There are ways to use social media to improve representation, Adam Kassam writes

Dr. Robert Sutton, who retired in 2016 after more than 45 years in medicine, was the first Black doctor hired at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Dr. Adam Kassam writes that in the United States, there are fewer Black men enrolled in American medical schools in 2017 than there were in 1978; he wonders if a social media campaign could help. (Carlos Osorio / Toronto Star file photo)

By Adam KassamOpinion

Fri., Dec. 1, 2017

An interesting phenomenon has emerged on Twitter lately, and I am not talking about the constant barrage of insults coming from the account of the U.S. president. What I am referring to is the growing online chorus of a medical community that seems to be waking from its long off-line slumber.

Physicians in general have been loath to use social media as a means of communicating with the public. Most of their reluctance stems from the possible medical-legal implications of sharing information on the internet. By shying away from social media, physicians have unfortunately ceded much of the health-care narrative to non-medical groups. Recently, however, doctors and medical organizations are beginning to understand the value of their voice in the online conversation. Indeed, many are using the platform to bring attention to an issue that has long plagued the profession: diversity.

One of the pioneers in using Twitter to bring awareness to diversity issues in medicine is Dr. Julie Silver from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Silver, a rehabilitation physician and colleague, has been extremely active in promoting gender equity in medicine. While she has published in academic journals about the lack of recognition female physicians receive, perhaps her most significant contributions in this area are the hashtag campaigns she has helped popularize. Dr. Silver is responsible for promoting hashtags like #WomeninMedicine and #HeforShe, while also starting #QuoteHer, an initiative aiming to increase the number of women experts in medical and health-care stories.

This week, the hashtag #BlackMeninMedicine has been trending among the wider medical community. Within the first 24 hours of the campaign, it had accumulated nearly 1.5 million impressions, and that number continues to grow. Started in the U.S., this campaign was borne out of the shocking statistic that there are fewer Black men enrolled in American medical schools in 2017 compared to 1978. That number is even smaller for Black women. Importantly, this is demographic data that has been collected annually by the medical community in the United States for decades. This contrasts dramatically with Canada, where similar data is simply non-existent.

The real question, however, is will these hashtag campaigns really help to improve diversity in medicine? One worry, of course, is that these initiatives are just flashes in the pan that disappear as quickly as they appear online. Staying power for online movements can be difficult in an era that is dominated by a 24 hour news cycle with the next trending hashtag a moment away. Additionally, for a profession that has been driven by evidence, there is currently little data to suggest that online activity has created real, meaningful and statistically significant improvements in diversity.

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On the other hand, it is likely that outcome data in this field is lacking because it is a relatively new experience for the medical community. There are also reasons to be optimistic. As reported previously in the Star, the University of Toronto is actively engaged in recruiting visible minorities, and specifically Black students. Led by chief diversity officer Dr. Lisa Robinson, the medical school has started a diversity mentorship program and a Black student application program. This is a cue that other medical schools should take to improve diversity in their own ranks.

Still, there are ways to use social media to improve representation in medicine. Many online advocates primarily focus on their own campaigns. However, imagine the strength of alliances that could be realized across advocacy groups. This would not only broaden impression numbers, retweets and likes, but would also reach a far wider audience than the simple silos we currently operate within. Because, ultimately, when it comes to diversity in medicine, we are all on the same team.

Dr. Adam Kassam is a resident physician in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Western University.